Johnny Depp to Produce Modern Day Don Quixote Film for Disney

It looks as if Johnny Depp may finally get a Don Quixote film made after all, though much to the chagrin of Terry Gilliam. Depp was originally slated to star in an adaptation of the classic novel for director Terry Gilliamin 2000, but production on the pic was halted after the film was plagued with misfortune (as documented in the film Lost in La Mancha). Gilliam has been trying to get the passion project off the ground ever since, but Deadline now reports that Disney has bought a pitch for an untitled modern re-imagining of Don Quixote to be produced by Depp through his Infinitum Nihil banner. Steve Pink (High Fidelity) and Jeff Morris have been set to write the screenplay.

There’s no word on whether Depp might star in the project, but given his tight relationship with Disney on the Pirates of the Caribbean films and the upcoming The Lone Ranger, I wouldn’t say the prospect is out of the question. Widely considered one of the best pieces of fiction ever written, Miguel de Cervantes’ seminal 1605 novel centers on a hidalgo who sets out to revive chivalry after reading a number of chivalric novels.